Meet Your Match (Disastrous Dates Book 1)

by Kayla Tirrell

  "You might be," Dominick agreed, sitting up on his bed to look at him. "I'm lucky to have a friend like you."

  "Whatever," Conrad grumbled, but Dominick saw the slight smile tug at his lips and knew he was proud of himself. "I've been away from my game long enough. All this gushy love talk makes me want to destroy some zombies."

  He was putting his headset back on before Dominick could say anything else, the sound of the game and Conrad's occasional cursing filled the silence.

  Dominick changed out of the ruined clothing and started looking online for possible ways to get out red wine stains. One website claimed Dawn detergent and hydrogen peroxide did the trick, but they had neither of those things in their dorm room, so he kept looking.

  When one solution called for salt and boiling water, Dominick felt hope flood through him. That was something he could do. He rummaged through old takeout silverware packages until he found a small handful of unopened salt packets. He sprinkled the salt on the stains just like the instructions said. Then he ran their Keurig without a cup to get the hot water.

  Conrad raised his brow when the two made brief eye contact.

  "I'm trying to get the stains out," Dominick answered.

  "And I told you I didn't care." Conrad shook his head, and turned his attention back to the television.

  Dominick knew Conrad wouldn't be mad if the stains didn't come out. And yet, with just a handful of words, he'd given him the encouragement he needed to face anything.

  Fixing the pants would be the least he could do.

  Next, it would be Harmony and this whole Date Maker mix-up.

  After following the directions as carefully as possible given the limitations of living on campus, Dominick ran down to the laundry facilities. He started the machine and went back up to his room.

  Already he was dreaming up possibilities for his second date with Harmony. If he could persuade her to see him again, he knew he wouldn't mess it up. No more freaking out and leaving his date stranded at an art class. He would do things properly. Romantically.

  Dominick was just working out the details of his plan when his phone buzzed. He picked it up off the nightstand and read the screen.

  Morgan: I am SO SORRY!! I mixed up a ton of dates this week. Harmony wasn't your date. I'll happily refund your money and bring your new date itinerary by tomorrow.

  He felt all the air leave his lungs as if he'd been punched in the gut. Harmony wasn't his intended date. His fingers flew across the screen as he typed his response. Even though he felt guilty, he couldn't make himself go through that again.

  Dominick: No. I think I'm done. Hopefully, you can find a new match for whoever you paired with me.

  He hit send, turned off his phone, and laid down with the sounds of Conrad's video game to lull him to sleep.

  "So what did you think of Pax?”

  "He was everything I thought he would be."

  7

  "I'm so sorry," Morgan said for the hundredth time as another customer walked away with a latte in hand. "I just got so angry with the things Declan was saying about me, and I wanted to prove him wrong. The matches were good. I just mixed them up."

  "I know," Harmony answered. Again.

  She was happy to have the distraction of work. Or at least, she had been. Two days with no word from Dominick had her questioning everything. When she looked back on the way the evening had gone, Harmony could recognize she hadn't given him a fair shot. He'd been a gentleman right up until the moment he raced out on her, and she'd spent the entire evening wishing he was someone else. It wasn't right.

  Even knowing Morgan had mixed things up, Harmony couldn't help but think about Dominick. She wondered how he was doing, and if the wine had come out of the pants.

  "And I'll totally refund your money,” Morgan continued. “I'm offering to do that to everyone who feels like they got matched with the wrong person."

  The wording struck Harmony as odd. She turned to face Morgan, leaning her hip against the counter. "And what if they don't feel like they got matched with the wrong person?" she asked slowly, not quite meeting Morgan’s eyes.

  Morgan's face turned a deep shade of red as she looked down at her shoes. "I spent two-hundred dollars on gift cards alone. If both people are happy, what does it matter if I mixed up their dates?"

  "So, you're only giving refunds to those people who ask?"

  Morgan nodded, also avoiding eye-contact.

  Harmony couldn't help but ask, "Did Pax request a refund?"

  Morgan looked up and smiled. "No, he had fun on his date. He didn't realize I'd mixed up the information. It was his match who complained." She stopped and looked off into space. "Or, not-his-match, I guess. He was really chill about the whole thing."

  "Even when he found out you were wrong?"

  Morgan nodded. "He's excited to meet you."

  Well, that was good since they were the real match.

  "Did…" Harmony took a long, deep breath. "Did Dominick request a refund?" She wasn't entirely sure she wanted the answer to that question. Had he been as miserable as she had been? The only difference would be when he looked back at the evening, he would know he gave it his best.

  Another wave of guilt hit her as she thought about the way she'd acted.

  Morgan pursed her lips and shook her head. "Nope. I even offered to set him up with his real match, but he said he was done."

  Done.

  She'd broken him. Harmony had broken Dominick, and there was nothing she could do about it. She didn't have his number. Unfortunately, that was one of the things Morgan had gotten "right" in Harmony’s date packet. The number she had belonged to Pax.

  Unless Dominick came in for coffee again—which she highly doubted at this point—Harmony wouldn't have a chance to apologize. She knew she could always ask Morgan for his number, but how could she do something like that when she had a date with Pax coming up? She'd look like the worst kind of person.

  Harmony wasn't sure what to say. And really, what was there to say? She felt horrible for everything. She knew Morgan felt horrible about everything.

  Thankfully, Harmony was saved from having to come up with anything by the most unladylike curse coming from Morgan. Harmony's head snapped up to see if she was okay. "He's here. I'm sorry!" Morgan ran to the backroom, leaving Harmony confused.

  Who was here? Dominick? She looked up at the front door, trying her best to act casual and not eager.

  But it wasn't Dominick. It was Declan.

  The source of all of Morgan's troubles. He was one of the winners of the massive coffee shop giveaways, and the guy who wrote that hurtful article. For some reason, Harmony had a feeling they'd be seeing a lot of him in the coming days.

  Harmony put on her best I'm-happy-to-be-dealing-with-customers smile and welcomed Declan. "What can I get started for you?"

  "I know she's here," he answered simply.

  She tilted her head. "I don't know who you're talking about. Can I start a drink for you?"

  Declan rubbed a hand over his face. His green eyes looked tired. His dark hair was legitimately messy—not just styled that way. "I literally watched her run into the back."

  Harmony knew there was no denying it, but had given it her best shot anyway. With about twenty feet between the front door and the counter, there was no way he hadn't spotted her when he came in. All three of them knew it.

  Harmony crossed her arms and smirked. "If you saw her run into the back, then I shouldn't have to spell it out for you. Morgan doesn't want to see you."

  "Please," Declan said, his voice a breathy plea. "I just need to talk to her."

  She shrugged. This was so not her problem. "I’m sorry if she doesn't want to talk to you."

  Declan shook his head and started to walk out, without ordering a drink, when he stopped and faced Harmony. "Have you ever made a mistake?"

  Harmony pursed her lips. She thought of her date with Dominick and nodded.

  "Yeah, me too. And I feel crappy about
it. I'm only looking to make amends with Morgan, not humiliate her further. Can you tell her that, please?"

  He turned and walked out of the store without waiting for an answer. Harmony was left stunned and intrigued. There was more to the story than a simple smear campaign. Villains didn't come looking for their victims looking legitimately remorseful.

  Harmony peered in the back. Morgan was standing with her back against the wall, her eyes wide. "Is he gone?" she whispered.

  Harmony rolled her eyes. "Yeah, he's gone, but you do know he saw you, right? He knew you were here, and really wanted to talk. You probably heard the whole thing."

  “Yeah.” Morgan nodded. “But I don’t want to talk to him. He ruined my life. He ruined my reputation."

  "He looked pretty bad," Harmony said as they both headed back out to the front of the store. The dining area was empty, except for one college student working on his laptop in the corner.

  "Good," Morgan snapped.

  Harmony stopped and looked at Morgan in wonder, once again at a loss for words. She'd never seen Morgan act so vindictive against other people. Yes, Declan wrote a horrible article about Morgan. So what? News came and went so quickly that she doubted many people gave it a second thought days later.

  Eventually, Harmony grabbed a towel and started wiping down the countertop near the register.

  "Are you excited about tonight?" Morgan asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence between the two of them. "Pax is super-hot, and a baseball player."

  Harmony looked up to see Morgan waggling her eyebrows.

  "He's a what?"

  "A baseball player. Think about how good his butt will look in his uniform." Morgan giggled. "You know, if that's your thing."

  Harmony laughed too. She never had considered jocks her type, but once Morgan had given her that little visual, Harmony couldn’t help but picture herself as the girlfriend of someone who could pull off tight pants.

  It would mean she’d have to brush up on baseball in the couple of hours before her date. Was baseball the one with innings? Did they score or earn points? Maybe a goal? Until this moment, Harmony had never realized how non-sporty she actually was. But the extra work would be worth it.

  "So, are you excited?" Morgan asked again. "I am, and just think, you only had to wait a couple of days from your original date to your real one. Not bad turnaround, if you ask me."

  "Yeah, thanks for that,” Harmony said, hoping Morgan wouldn’t realize she hadn’t answered the original question. Was she excited?

  As the coffee shop started to fill up with the rush before the last afternoon class, Harmony didn’t have much time to think about Pax or the date. She did, however, keep an eye out for Dominick. She left her shift to get ready feeling strangely upset that he hadn’t come in.

  By the time their date rolled around, Harmony felt like a baseball expert. The fact that Pax was twenty minutes late certainly had helped give her the extra time to research the sport he played.

  For their date, Harmony wore the same dress, to the same restaurant, and even had the same waitress as before. The waitress must have recognized her too, because she gave Harmony the stink eye. Harmony wasted no time ordering a gin and tonic as she settled in, and was on her second of the night when Pax strolled in.

  He wore sunglasses on the top of his head, even though the sun was already setting, and it would soon be night. Pax might be as gorgeous in real life as his picture had indicated, but he was still a walking, talking eighties song. Harmony just barely stopped herself from humming the tune to the Corey Hart song about wearing sunglasses at night.

  "Hey." Pax flashed his smile as he took the seat across from her. He grabbed a roll from the basket in the middle of the table and started eating. "So, you're Harmony."

  "In the flesh," she answered with a smile of her own, her heartbeat picking up as she saw him for the first time in person.

  "Pax.” He pointed to himself and leaned back in his chair. “Crazy about the whole Date Maker mix-up, isn't it?”

  She nodded as he took another bite. The next words out of his mouth were muffled by the roll. "How big of a loser was yours?"

  Huh? The words caught Harmony off-guard. "How big a what?"

  Pax leaned forward, putting his forearms on the tabletop. "It's okay. We both know we were set up with people who were worse than us.”

  "Why would you say that?"

  The smile Pax gave in response was dazzling. "Because if the person was a catch, we wouldn't be here, would we?" He chuckled. "My date was pretty enough, but she was as dull as… a dull pencil or something."

  The irony wasn't lost on Harmony.

  And besides, hadn't Morgan said Pax’s date had been the one who complained about the match? Maybe this was his way of saving face, but it made her uncomfortable. Harmony debated asking him, but the waitress came by for their orders. Pax ordered first, not even looking at the menu but requesting the biggest steak they had. Harmony ordered the same thing she had a few nights earlier and tried to ignore the waitress’s raised eyebrow. She took their menus without a word, thankfully, and then left the two of them alone once again.

  "Anyway," he started. "I'm dying to know what was wrong with your guy."

  Harmony thought back to the night of her date with Dominick. What was wrong with him? He'd been the perfect gentleman to her the entire night—until he left with little explanation.

  "Nothing," she eventually muttered.

  "Nothing?" Pax shook his head. "That's a lie, and you know it."

  Harmony sighed, her gaze going to the front of the restaurant as if she could conjure up Dominick just by doing so. "The only thing wrong with him was he wasn't you."

  The grin on Pax’s face grew wider.

  "That's not what I mean," she tried to explain. "He was great. I just thought he was going to be you, and I couldn't look past that."

  “Well, I can understand the disappointment, then.” He smirked.

  His arrogance was off-putting, and had rubbed her the wrong way almost instantly. She wasn’t sure what to say, but hoped they could click soon and make the date less uncomfortable, because at this rate, it was going to end faster than the one she’d had with Dominick.

  “So, Morgan told me you play baseball,” Harmony said.

  Pax nodded and was happy to fill the silence with his baseball statistics. He was looking forward to the game this week again Saint Leo University, and went on and on about the guys on the other team. Harmony tried to pay attention, she did, but his voice had become oddly similar to the teacher in all the Peanuts cartoons.

  Wah, wah, wah...

  She nodded and smiled when he stopped long enough to take a breath, and hoped she was making the appropriate motions at the right times.

  When the waitress finally brought the food out, Harmony wasted no time. She was taking her first bite as soon as the plates hit the table, burning her tongue in the process.

  “Wow, you’ve got quite the appetite, don’t you? At least it doesn’t show.”

  Harmony stopped chewing and looked up at Pax.

  “I just mean you must have a fast metabolism. It’s good to know you won’t be ordering salad every time we go out.”

  Every time? That implied there would be another time. Harmony wasn’t so sure she wanted a second date yet. Pax was as handsome as she thought he would be—more so, even—but the dynamic between them just didn’t feel right.

  Harmony shrugged and answered, with her mouth still full of food. “I like to eat.”

  He nodded and started talking again. Harmony tried to focus as she shoveled food into her mouth. The sooner she was done eating, the sooner the date was over.

  Pax looked at her expectantly. “So, does that mean you’ll come?”

  Come to what? Dang it, Harmony really needed to try harder to follow his conversation. “I’m sorry,” she apologized. “I think I might have zoned out for just a second. Go to what?”

  Pax rolled his eyes. “The game against Saint Leo.
The thing I’ve been talking about all night.”

  He was still talking about that? She bit her lip. “When is it?”

  “Yeesh. It’s like you haven’t been listening to me at all tonight.” He let out a puff of air and shook his head. “It’s on Thursday night. It could be our second date.”

  “Second date,” Harmony mused. Once she said the words aloud, she knew how ridiculous the idea was. She wanted to give this date her all, but did that mean she would string him along? That wouldn’t be right either. When did dating become so complicated? And wasn’t using the Date Maker supposed to make it easier?

  Besides, all she could think about during her date with Pax was Dominick and how different he was from the guy sitting across from her now.

  “Listen, Pax, I don’t think this is working out,” Harmony blurted before she could lose her nerve.

  He stopped mid-chew, his brows furrowed. “What do you mean? I thought we were having a good time? We’ve had a good conversation over dinner.”

  He meant he’d had a good conversation, but Harmony decided against mentioning that. Instead she said, “I think I might want to go on another date with my non-match.” Not that Harmony owed Pax the explanation.

  “The loser?” he asked.

  Harmony stiffened in her seat. “He’s not a loser, and I think he might have been a good match for me. I don’t know, but I want to try again.”

  “If you leave, don’t expect me to take you back.”

  Harmony bit the inside of her cheek to keep her face neutral. Take her back? They hadn’t even made it through the dinner portion of the date, and he acted like they were breaking up. No wonder his non-match was screaming for a refund.

  And to think, Harmony might not have realized how awful Pax was if it wasn’t for her disastrous date with Dominick. She would have been too blinded by his looks.

  She’d made a mess of everything, and she could only hope Dominick would give her a second chance.

  Harmony pulled out a couple bills from her purse, and set them on the table as she stood up. “I know this isn’t enough to cover my half of the meal, but let’s pretend it is.”